Complicated Epidural Analgesia With Undiagnosed Spinal Tumor: A Case Report

Neuraxial anesthesia is commonly used for labor analgesia, and postpartum back pain is often experienced, with or without an epidural. Although it usually improves with supportive care, back pain coupled with other findings (such as radiculopathy, bowel or bladder dysfunction, or inability to ambulate) warrants further investigation post epidural. Here, we present a 37-year-old patient who experienced inadequate pain relief with multiple epidural blocks during labor and worsened back pain after delivery, and was later determined to have a lumbar myxopapillary ependymoma. Neuraxial anesthesia in the setting of a spinal tumor imposes a high risk for serious complications.